


Beyond Death

by TomRoyal69



Category: Eddsworld - All Media Types
Genre: Demon Deals, Demon/Human Relationships, Demons, M/M, Rituals
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-22
Updated: 2019-01-22
Packaged: 2019-10-14 15:30:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,991
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17511173
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TomRoyal69/pseuds/TomRoyal69
Summary: Tom has been worried lately, and his faith shaky. He doesn't want to lose what finally makes him happy. Maybe it's time to finally embrace his true nature...I'm going to preface this by saying this is most likely HELLA inaccurate. Hopefully, I don't offend anyone, because it's NOT my intention. I took a little influence from Pagan religion, because I grew up in a house with 2 Pagans, so it bled into here a bit. Translations for what Tom says in Latin are at the end, since Google Translate hates me.





	Beyond Death

“Why are we doing this again, Jehovah's?”, Tord asked.

 

Tom didn't answer right away. He was busy gripping a stick of red chalk, having Tord sit in the middle of the floor as a guide while he drew, careful to keep the direction counter-clockwise. His lines were shaky, but straight enough. Once the picture was complete, he set the chalk down and headed to the side to grab his other materials, finally answering.

 

“I don't want to take any chances. As it stands now, if one of us is gone, we'll be apart forever. I don't want that. Think of this as an insurance policy,” Tom said cooly.

 

Tord had been able to adjust when Tom said he was a demon. It was... Difficult to believe, at first. But after hearing the full story, and seeing proof of his demonic energy, he believed him. He was still Tom, and what he is or was wouldn't change that now.

 

As Tom told it, he was actually 50ish years old at the time, which was rather young for a demon. A child who saw something about summoning demons on TV, imitated it, and accidentally summoned him, looking for a friend. After hearing about the child's life with an alcoholic mother that didn't even put the bottle down while pregnant, he took pity on him, and offered to possess him, simply so he didn't have to take the brunt of the pain from his abusive mother. The child's soul had decided to move on, and went to heaven, leaving Tom to fully fuse with his new host body, forgetting his life as a demon, while still being aware of its existence.

 

20 years later, he lived with Edd, his legal caretaker, (evidently, he still has to deal with this host body's ailments, and Fetal Alcohol Syndrome has left him somewhat mentally disabled), Matt, Edd's friend, and Tord, his once nemesis-turned-boyfriend. Having thought Tord died by his hand once seems to have been weighing heavily on his mind. His normally strong faith in the religion he turned his back on his demonic nature with had been shaky right around the 2 year anniversary of the incident.

 

“Tom, if this is about what happened 2 years ago, we've both changed. I left behind that life, and we both abandoned that rivalry…” Tord reassured.

 

Tom shook his head, setting black candles at the specific points of the shape he drew: an upside down pentagram.

 

“It's not that... Well, partially that. It's... When I was younger, and I was starting to get religious... It was because I didn't understand this. I thought I was supposed to be taken care of as a demon, and because I wasn't, I thought I just wasn't cared FOR. So, I turned my back on it. But I'm older. I understand a little better. I know I'm not automatically taken care of. But I'm given tools to take care of myself. This is one of them.”

 

Tord sighed a little, watching Tom light the candles. He could believe that Tom was a demon in a human body, but that there was forces beyond science, even  _ magic _ like Tom was insisting on... He wasn't so sure. But he could humour Tom. And even if what he described  _ would _ somehow work... He wasn't complaining. 2 years into finally opening up and having a relationship with the drunk made him pretty eager to spend eternity with him. If eternity was the rest of his life, great. If it was even longer, better. Finally, with the pentagram drawn, and candles lit, Tom sat in the middle with the other things for their ritual.

 

“Alright, let me explain one more time what we're doing,” Tom said softly. “What we're doing is sort of a 2 for 1 ritual. Like when Ringo needed that operation, and Edd had her spayed while they were poking around anyway. First and foremost, we're doing what's called a binding ritual, to bind our souls together.”

 

“Sounds kinky~” Tord quipped.

 

“Shut up... It's so we'll be more connected in this physical plane, and so if we're separated in the spiritual plane, we can find one another,” Tom explained.

 

“...and what about the other ritual?” Tord questioned.

 

“That is more on my end, in order to give me the power and ability to protect you. It's what's called a blood contract. Now, the cost of it will  _ sound _ bad, but hear me out. Essentially, in order for me to protect you in this physical plane, you're selling me your soul-” Tom began to explain, but was quickly cut off by a worried Tord.

 

“H-hey, wait a minute, I never agreed to that! I never said you could-” he started.

 

Tom sighed, shaking his head as he smiled.

 

“I told you to hear me out, commie... Just let me explain. On a technical level, yes, you are selling me your soul in the event of your natural death. There has to be a cost. But here's where it doesn't matter much. In the event of your natural death, the contract has been fulfilled, but we've already bound our souls together. Our souls would be together, anyway. After you die, only your soul remains. That means wherever you go, I'm allowed to follow, despite being a demon. If you're going up to heaven, I get to come. If you're coming back downstairs with me, you get to chill with the VIP squad. I don't remember it clearly, but it's a lot better than being tortured, and I'll be there,” Tom explained. When he saw the look on Tord's face fade into calm understanding again, he continued.

 

“That's as long as I protect you until your natural death. But if I fail to protect you, the contract is broken. At that point, you can choose to sever the bonding of our souls, and go on to your judgement, and possibly never see me again. I won't lie... If that happened, I don't know what would happen to your soul if you didn't sever it. I don't know if you'd still go wherever you were going, and I'd just join after my human body died, I don't know if you'd wander in limbo until I was done living, stick around like a voice in my head... I have no clue. But I know once I died, we'd be together again in wherever you'd be going,” Tom finished explaining, but added one other thing.

 

“If you're still uncomfortable with the idea, or don't understand something, speak up now. The ritual hasn't started, and it's not too late to back out. But it's like sex. Consent is key. For this to work, we have to be on the same page about the end goal and potential risks, or else it's invalid. And there is no going back. Once it's done, it's done. The only way to escape the contract early, should we get in a fight and split up or anything, is death. The one who wants out needs to kill themselves, to show displeasure at the contract, retract consent, and invalidate it,” Tom said, taking Tord's hands gently into his own while looking up at him.

 

“I... Think I understand. I don't know all the steps of the ritual... But I understand the end part. And I trust you…” Tord said softly.

 

“I'm also not going to lie... The ritual might hurt a little. It might leave a slight scar. I'm not gonna, like, rip out your still-beating heart, but when I sat blood contract, I mean it literally. We'll be cutting each other's hands enough to draw blood,” Tom added, sighing.

 

Tord sighed softly. “I'm... Not keen on that. But if that's what it takes... I'm still not sure about all of this... About afterlives and magic and shit... But I'm sure about  _ you _ . If this means there's a chance of beyond “till death do us part”, I'll take it... I don't think we'll split up. We're an unlikely duo, sure, but we're inseparable...”

 

Tom smiled, nodding softly. “That's a good attitude to have... Don't worry, you don't have to believe fully for it to work... Just understanding what comes after and any risks is enough. Let's start…”

 

Tom let go of his hands, grabbing the only other other items he had: a piece of red and silver silk rope (which Tom claimed was custom made), a clean knife, some alcohol pads, tissues, and large band-aids. Tom opened the alcohol pads, and wiped both of their left palms. He noted that Tord seemed a bit nervous now, but he trusted Tord to let him know if he wanted to back out, just as Tord trusted him to not perform a ritual to hurt him beyond a slight cut.

 

“...your eyes are red,” Tord noted. This was the only thing he felt he needed to be nervous about. And only just. It was simply an odd thing to see in his boyfriend.

 

Tom simply nodded. “Just because we're doing something with demon-y magic. I promise, no need to be concerned about it. Alright, I can say all the words, but we have to cut each other's palms. I do you, you do me. I'm going to do you first, so you can see how deep to go…”

 

“...phrasing, Tom…” Tord joked, trying to offset his nerves. He doesn't want to back out... But this seems like the sort of thing white teens do at the beginning of a horror movie.

 

“Shut up... Here we go…” Tom bit his lip, taking the knife and gently cut into Tord's palm. Not deep enough to do any serious damage, but enough to leave a good scar. He does it slowly, though, to make sure he doesn't do too deep, speaking up softly to himself.

 

“ _ Nunc enim effundet sanguinem ad lunam quaeruntur. Ut nostra fiat contractus, inquit, nostrum consensum audiri et nostrae vota complevit… _ ”

 

He cleans off the knife with the last alcohol pad, handing the knife to Tord as he continues, holding out his own hand in offering.

 

“ _ Iste custodivit animam suam naturam usque diebus meis. Praesidium suis rebus mercedem suam, ut placeat tibi: est poena munire deficerem ceterisque rebus naturalibus plane frustra diebus suis. _ ”

 

He tries to keep his voice steady as Tord cuts into his palm while he speaks. Once he finishes, he takes the knife and sets it aside, taking Tord's hand with his own, setting their cuts right against each other, mixing their blood as he continues.

 

“ _ Nos signati contractus nunc. Sit pars eligit mortem effugere vellet evadere per invito altero fuga. Sed quod non diu manent, et sic eorum. Quid est quod factum est per sanguinem ejus non sine sanguine. _ ”

 

Tom reaches for the rope, wrapping it counter-clockwise around their arms, and especially by their hands.

 

“ _ In animabus nostris ne unum tenetur in spinalis rerum significare necessitudines sumus participes. Cum fuerint corpora nostra rediit in terram animabus nostris, manebimus in qua simul est proximus. Hoc autem movetur, quocumque ierit sequar. Texitur vitae, nunc animos nostros hic planum rursus aliam diebus usque ad consummationem et finem dierum. _ ”

 

Tom punctuates the final word with tying a strong, yet easily untied knot. He holds onto Tord's hand a bit longer, then lets go to undo the knot.

 

“...that's it?” Tord questioned, looking a bit pained from the pressure on the new wound and the bleeding from it, but more confused.

 

“...that's it,” Tom confirmed, wiping their hands and placing bandages on their wounds.

 

“...i don't feel different,” Tord commented.

 

“...you will. Not in this plane. But you'll feel it once it'll come in handy,” Tom said simply, getting up to clean up after the ritual.

 

He knew it wasn't something crazy. No levitating furniture, no rotating heads. It wasn't some evil sacrifice. Simply a promise between two souls, to stick together, with a little extra so the weaker of the two could protect what mattered most to him. Even beyond death.

**Author's Note:**

> "And now we spill blood into the moonlight. Let our contract be said, our agreement be heard, and our wishes fulfilled."
> 
> "Let this soul be protected under my care until the end of his natural days. The reward for my success in his protection is his soul, to do with as I please; the punishment for my failure to protect is the rest of my natural days in the physical plane without his company."
> 
> "We have now sealed the contract. To escape it means willing death for the party who chooses to escape, for escape means the other is unwilling. But as long as I remain, so shall he. What has been done by blood shall not be undone without blood."
> 
> "Let our souls be bound together, the cord to symbolize the ties we share. Once our bodies are returned to the earth, our souls shall remain together in what comes next. Once this man moves on, wherever he goes, I shall follow. Our lives are intertwined, and now, our souls are, here in this plane, and again in the next, until not the end of our days, but until the end of all days."


End file.
